Not sure where to get them but I have seen...and used in art classes...metal stamps that you can hold on the metal and hit with a hammer to get the letters on the spoons. I would look around online to see what you can find.

I have them - a set of "punches" that have letters and numbers in the set. The punches are about 4" tall ... & the letters are about 1/8th inch high . You just hit it and it indents in the metal one letter at a time . (I got them from my dad - he had them when he was a machinist.) I'm sure you can find them locally - but if you can't - Google "Letter Punches" & there's a bunch of sites.
I've used mine a bunch ! Harbor freight might even have them. Good luck !

My dad had a set of those punches too, and now I have them, too. I really like this idea and will have to give it a try soon. This would make some nice things for Mother's Day or to sell.

That's how I got my silverware for a windchime flat was pound on it with a mallet. You can use a buffing wheel if you have one, or buffing attachment for a dremel or even fine steel wool to take any sharp spots off and make them pretty after you've flattened them.

I know the locksmith has them. So glad to hear they can be bought at Harbor Freight. We don't have one anywhere around so I'll look on line.
Well I went and did it them came back and realized I hadn't posted this yet. I ordered 2, one for me and one for the shelter's private veggie garden, they want to make the recycled spoon plant markers! Also bought a bunch of other stuff, had to maximize my purchase to shipping ratio, he he. They have some good deals on gloves, now I can sneak some of dh's work gloves into the garbage and replace them.
Kathy

1. Get a big hammer.
2. An anvil, or a flat piece of steel about 1/4" thick as the base.
3. Using the punch, you hammer as hard as you can while holding the punch in the exact same place, which is a very difficult thing to do.
4. You may find it difficult to hold the punch in exactly vertical position, which makes the letters come out uneven, in that case, you may need to rock the punch once slightly forward, hammer, then rock the punch slightly backward and hammer one more time.

I resurrected this thread because I have some old silverware and want to make some plant markers for this spring.

What size punches work best on silverware? Does anyone have a kit that includes both upper and lower case as well as numbers and symbols or do you have to buy individual kits if you want variety?

Do you always need to flatten the silverware first?

Also has anyone seen any novel ideas using the punches for other garden junk?

Any other advice ... like watch out for your fingers while hammering the punches? It seems like this project requires more than two hands. One hand to hold the punch, one hand for the hammer, and a third and possibly fourth hand to hold the silverware. Am I correct? Or is there a way to secure the silverware while you're hammering the punch. (Hey, maybe I can convince hubby to be to hold the punch while I give it a good pounding? hehe.

If you happen to have a drill press, the entire process is made much easier. Just put your spoon the press, put a heavy, flat piece of metal (or wood--hubby is a metal worker, so we have that at hand) on top of it, and smash it flat with the drill press.

We recently picked up a small drill press at a garage sale (for $2!) that's perfect for stamping the letters. I tape each letter punch in place, add a metal plate to the top, and use the press to imprint them all at once. Depending on what your punches are made out of, you might have to be careful not to apply too much pressure to the press, but you can get all the impressions done at once, and they will all be the same depth.

You can also make the letters appear deeper by staining them with a little watered-down paint or stain. Paint it on, and then rub it right back off, being careful not to take all the color out of the impressions. When I do this, I sometimes seal the spoon in polyurethane after the paint dries.